2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment
"Bobcats"

In March 2008, the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division was inactivated and was reflagged as the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. The 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division was subsequently reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, an infantry brigade combat team, and reactivated at Fort Bliss, Texas. The reorganization to an IBCT required the activation of a second infantry battalion as part of the Brigade. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry was assigned on 16 August 2009 to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and activated at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment as traces its history back to 12 April 1808, when it was first constituted as a company of the 4th Infantry. It was organized in May or June 1808 in New England. The 4th Infantry as a whole served with distinction in the war of 1812 in Canada and at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. The unit's motto originated at Lundy's Lane where Colonel James Miller, the regiment's first commander after the war, spoke those words when asked to take the objective.

The unit was consolidated between May and October 1815 with a company each of the 9th and 13th Infantry (both constituted 11 January 1812), a company of the 21st Infantry (constituted 26 June 1812), a company of the 40th Infantry (constituted 29 January 1813), and a company of the 46th Infantry (constituted 30 March 1814) to form a company of the 5th Infantry Regiment. This unit was designated on 22 May 1816 as Company B, 5th Infantry.

The 5th Infantry Regiment saw service in the Mexican War from Palo Alto with General Zachary Taylor's Army, all the way to Chapultepec and Vera Cruz in 1847 with General Winfield Scott's Army. For the 5th Infantry, the Civil War was a quiet time, as the Regiment remained deployed in New Mexico protecting the Union's western flank, participating in minor campaigns.

The Regiment participated in a number of campaigns against the Indians both before and after the Civil War from Florida to Montana. It was during Colonel Nelson A. Miles' long tenure as commander after the Civil War that the Regiment created some of its most glories history. There were 48 Medals of Honor presented to soldiers of the 5th Infantry who fought against the Sioux, the Nez Perces, and the Bannocks. It was at that time that the Regiment adopted its crest. The Regiment had 54 recipients of the Medal of Honor prior to 1869, the most of any infantry regiment during that time period. It was the third oldest regiment in service.

In June 1869, Company B, 5th Infantry was consolidated with part of Company K, 37th Infantry. Company K, 37th Infantry had been first constituted on 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as Company K, 3rd Battalion, 19th Infantry. It was organized on 25 September 1866 at Fort Columbus, New York and reorganized and redesignated on 23 November 1866 as Company K, 37th Infantry. Elements of the company were consolidated in June 1869 with both Company A and Company B, 5th Infantry, and consolidated units designated as Company A and Company B, 5th Infantry (with Company A, 5th Infantry having a separate lineage).

The Regiment saw limited action during the Philippine Insurrection and Participated as one of the occupation forces after the First World War. Between World War I and into the interwar period, the unit was assigned to various divisions within the US Army. The 5th Infantry was assigned on 27 July 1918 to the 17th Division, before being relieved on 10 February 1919 from assignment to the 17th Division. It was assigned on 24 March 1923 to the 9th Division and then relieved on 15 August 1927 from assignment to the 9th Division. At that time it was assigned to the 5th Division. It was relieved on 1 October 1933 from assignment to the 5th Division and reassigned to the 9th Division.

The 5th Infantry was relieved on 15 July 1940 from assignment to the 9th Division. It was assigned on 10 July 1943 to the 71st Light Division (later redesignated as the 71st Infantry Division). During World War II, the 5th Infantry landed in France on 2 February 1945, where it participated in the Rhineland campaign and in Austria with the 71st Infantry Division. The 5th Infantry was relieved on 1 May 1946 from assignment to the 71st Infantry Division. Company B, 5th Infantry was inactivated on 15 November 1946 in Austria.

Company B, 5th Infantry along with the rest of the Regiment was activated on 1 January 1949 in Korea. It served throughout the entire conflict and participated in 11 campaigns. Battles where the Regiment displayed extreme valor included the Punchbowl, Congnae-Dong, and Chinju (where the Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation).

After the Korean War, the Regiment was assigned on 10 October 1954 to the 71st Infantry Division. It was relieved on 25 August 1956 from assignment to the 71st Infantry Division and assigned on 1 September 1956 to the 8th Infantry Division. The unit was inactivated on 1 August 1957 in Germany and relieved from assignment to the 8th Infantry Division. It was redesignated on 19 November 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battle Group, 5th Infantry, with its organic elements concurrently constituted. It was assigned on 1 December 1957 to the 9th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado. It was inactivated on 31 January 1962 at Fort Carson, Colorado, and relieved from assignment to the 9th Infantry Division.

The unit was redesignated on 6 December 1969 as the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry. It was concurrently assigned to the 25th Infantry Division and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. There it was inactivated on 5 June 1972 and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division.

The Battalion was reassigned on 16 August 1995 to the 25th Infantry Division and activated at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The Battalion was redesignated on 1 October 2005 as the 2d Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment. It was inactivated on 15 November 2005 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division. This was part of the transformation of the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division to the US Army's new modular force structure. As part of the transformation, the Battalion was inactivated and reflagged as the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry.

The Battalion was assigned on 16 August 2009 to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, and activated at Fort Bliss, Texas. This activation was part of both the transformation of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team to the Army's modular force structure, but also the conversion of the Brigade from a Heavy Brigade to an Infantry Brigade Combat Team.